Ten Links in the Chain: Food for Thought (25-JAN-2013)

By Game Knight, on January 25th, 2013

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Yes, you read the title of this post correctly. This is the first news roundup since right before New Year’s Eve 2012. I actually started putting it together before January 1st, but got a wee bit distracted. This is what happens when you go on vacation for a few weeks and then have to pay the piper when you get back! Crazy, isn’t it?

Photo courtesy Lauren Nelson/Creative Commons

Anyway, I thought we’d start off with a boatload of links to get us all thinking about gaming… Art, science, weapons, maps, computer games… There’s a smorgasbord of reading!

And third, we have F**k Yeah Cartography… Again, this isn’t really a gaming-related site, but dang there’s a lot to look at. This Tumblr manages to include geospatial data, Disneyland maps, art, antique maps, and lord knows what else all in one place. Amazing to browse, but be sure to look at the clock every once in a while.

3. “Dear Mom and Dad, I play D&D…”

Thankfully this wasn’t a situation I found myself in when I started playing D&D in 1982, but I am sure there were more than a few conversations between my parents and grandparents trying to figure out if it was as bad as everybody said at the time. I count my lucky stars that they saw past the propaganda to the core of the game that encouraged reading, math, creativity, and social skills!

If you’d rather keep your sights down here on our own planet, perhaps the tardigrade (Water Bear) (Author Renee Silvana) or Brazilian Treehopper (io9) are up your alley? Either of these would make spectacular monsters in a fantasy world or one in a galaxy far, far away…

If you’re pondering a world without trees, paper may be scarce but definitely possible according to this article on Treeless Paper @ Kaufman Mercantile. Perhaps it’s time to save a few trees and go with something unique for your next pulp fiction masterpiece.

And taking the cake in the Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull competition, apparently they found some deformed skulls in a 1,000 year old cemetery in Mexico that look pretty alien to me (io9). Though I hope that Indy stays retired and avoids any more ancient space travelers, I’d be very curious why anyone would think that adjusting the head like that made them look more attractive… Maybe if you’re Fox Mulder?

8. A touch of inspiration…

We all need a little inspiration from time to time and I’m thankful the Internet is such a wild and crazy place that I can find some.